Chempedak Magic Custard Cake

I just realised I've not published this bake done sometime ago...

I was attracted to the fragrance of these 'Durian Chempedak' while doing my grocery shopping. I've never included chempedak in my bake and I thought...why not give it a try?!

Chempedak is a tropical fruit native to Malaya and Thailand. It's appearance is similar to Jackfruit. The pulpy flesh around the seeds are popular for its fragrant taste. The seeds can also be cooked and eaten. 

I decided to use the pulpy flesh of the chempedak to make a Chempedak Magic Custard Cake with reference to the Magic Durian Custard Cake made a while ago. 

The outcome - Though the durian version comes up tops, the 'durian chempedak' version still received thumbs up from my family!

Magic custard cakes have 3 layers. The bottom layer is denser and kueh-like probably due to the flour batter, the middle is a custard layer from the egg yolks while the top and fluffy layer is from the egg meringue floating to the top. 

Like the durian version, I do not find the 3 layers to be as obvious as the original version, the chocolate version or the milo version. Nevertheless, it was a very delectable cake to be enjoyed, especially when it's chilled. 

This is another cake you should not miss!

Chempedak Magic Custard Cake

makes a 8" square pan 

Ingredients:

180g chempedak flesh 
113g unsalted butter

485g milk 
1 tbspn water

4 eggs, separated

115g plain flour

145g confectioner sugar

2 tbspn sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

extra confectioner's sugar for dusting (optional)

Method:

1. Lightly grease and line a 8"x8" square pan.

2. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.

3. Sift flour in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly. 

5. Place chempedak flesh into a blender. Add 90g milk to the chempedak flesh and give it a good blitz until it is pureed.

6. Warm the balance milk to lukewarm and stir in pureed chempedak. Stir till well mixed and set aside.

7. In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites till foamy. Add 2 tablespoon sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.

8. In a big mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until light.

9. Beat in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes or until evenly incorporated.

10. Mix in flour until evenly incorporated.

11. Gently stir in the chempedak-milk mixture and vanilla extract until everything is well mixed. I whisk in by hand as it is a very liquid batter to avoid splattering.

12. Fold in the egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Repeat until all of the egg whites are folded in.

13. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden.

14. Allow cake to completely cool on a wire rack.

15. Cover the top of the cake pan with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before removing the cake from the pan.

16. Trim the sides of the cakes, decorate as desired and serve.

Some important pointers: 

- Temperature of the ingredients are important. The milk should only be lukewarm so that it does not cook the eggs.

- As the batter is very liquid, it is better to use a hand whisk rather than an electric whisk. Otherwise, you'll end up having to clean up all the splatters.

- When folding in the meringue to the egg yolk mixture, I prefer to use a hand whisk. The mixture is very liquid and curdly. Have no fear, this is normal. Just fold in the whites gently till there's not big chunks of whites left.

- For ease of removal from the cake pan, line with parchment paper. Have about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of parchment paper hanging outside the pan so that the cake can be easily lifted up the cake pan.

- As the cake from the oven will be wobbly and jiggery, I will chill it in the fridge (with a cling wrap covering the pan) after it is completely cooled on wire rack. I find it easier to remove from the cake pan and cut the cake after it has been chilled in the fridge.

- The cake will shrink after it is cooled, so do not be too alarmed.

- Trim the sides of the cake so that you can present the 3 magical layers. 

Thanks for dropping by. Do link back to LY's Kitchen Ventures if you have used any information published in this blog.